If My Heart Was A House You'd Be Home
by Lyziebell
Summary: Gilbert did not know when it happened but at some point his heart started to beat a little faster when he looked at Alice.  Could she ever feel the same for him, or did it even matter?   R&R Please!


Okay, I do not own Pandora Hearts or the Owl City song that inspried this fic. So don't sue me, cause i'm just a poor college student.

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Gilbert growled at the girl across from him as she shoved the meat into her mouth in a most unappealing way. He looked away and mumbled,

"Stupid Rabbit."

But Alice was too absorbed in her beef to notice him. Somehow when he said those words they felt empty. There was no malice in that phrase anymore; it was replaced by something almost sweet. She looked up at him, mouth full, but dark eyes shining with joy. Gilbert quickly looked away, trying to keep his cheeks from turning red, but the hot rush flooded to them anyway. He was sure that when he turned around she would be munching away and would have never noticed his gesture. She never noticed him, but did that matter? When did he even start to notice her? He couldn't remember. At some moment he felt the need to protect this girl, this being, which had made his life so difficult since he met her. This girl that annoyed him, that drove him insane, but somewhere, somehow, his heart that had been incased in ice had been melted by those moments when this girl smiled warmly at him and when she laughed it was as if someone had set his very being afire. His mind clouded with the thoughts of her. The girl across from him said something and he could feel himself nodding, but his mind was elsewhere.

She was north for him. It didn't matter when it happened, or maybe it had always been, but once Break had expelled her from Oz, he felt something start inside him. It didn't matter what he did, no matter how long he tried to run from it, no matter how much he pretended it wasn't true, he could only revolve around her. She was his North and he was her compass. There was no way for him to explain it, there would never be a way for him to tell her, yet he found himself outside her room, pacing, folding and unfolding his hands, one bare and one gloved to protect those he loved. He didn't know what to say to her, she had changed his life in more ways than one. He felt his breath catch in his chest when upon his twentieth lap he noticed her leaning against the door watching him with those wary, deep crimson eyes.

He turned lifting a hand to the back of his head, looking down, the embarrassment suffocating him. Alice tilted her head to the side and smiled at him,

"Raven."

Gilbert stared at his feet, mentally scolding himself for showing up here, for not being strong enough to stop himself from being drawn to her, for being so foolish, but the way she said his name, even if it was the name that he hated, there was too much beauty in it. He brought his golden eyes to meet hers,

"Alice..."

He didn't know what to say after that, he didn't know if anything ever needed to follow her name, it felt perfect in his mouth. She pushed off of the doorframe and quickly filled the space between them her hands interlaced behind her back. Gilbert watched the way she moved, the way her pale pink dress fluttered with each of her steps, the way her hair bounced against her shoulders, the way her pale skin contrasted with her dark locks. She stopped a step away from him, looked up at him, and flashed him that smile that had conquered this man. There was something dark in her eyes, something breakable,

"Yes?" She asked as she rocked up on her toes, coming terrifingly close to his face. All the while with that smiled and that devilishly sweet look in her eyes. Gilbert cleared his throat, wishing the action would clear the fuzziness in his mind, but it did little to help and the words slipped out before he could stop them,

"Would you like to walk the garden with me?"

Alice took a step backward, She blinked at the man in front of her, there was no 'Stupid Rabbit' that followed or preceded his statement, there was no hint of hatred, just sincere, hopeful questioning. She stared in confusion at him, when did this change happen? When did he begin to like her? When was that moment that he stopped wanting to kill her and started wanting to save her? She couldn't answer it and she doubted he knew the answer either. She let the word slip out unintentionally,

"Yes."

Relief was the first feeling to stun him as he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, the second was affection, affection which overwhelmed him and drug him further into the haze he was already in.

He didn't move his feet, they moved themselves. He didn't think about how it would look to have the "Stupid Rabbit" walking along with him, he didn't have to. The moment they fell into step together, his usual pace slowed to allow for her wondering eyes to absorb anything she found interesting; it felt as if the final piece to his puzzle had been placed where it needed to be. He had all he needed, his precious master, Oz, his dear friends, Break, Liam, and Sharon, his adoring brother, Vincent, and her, the final piece that he didn't even know he was missing.

The sun stunned him for a moment as she burst out the door into the garden. The warm rays spilled through her dark hair, making it appear to glow, her pale skin absorbing it, as she grabbed his hand leading him to pool in the middle of the flowers and plants.

She turned back to smile at him and he smiled back. She froze, realizing the man she led with such joy was neither of the men she ever thought she would. Gilbert was not Oz or Jack. It wasn't one of the nobles of light, but was instead a noble of darkness. This one contrasted those two so much, not just in the opposites of the their coloring, blonde and green versus black and gold, but in the sadness that had been trapped inside of him, the dismay that threatened to over throw him sometimes, and something even more, his lack of memories that matched hers, his hatred of the Abyss, his confusion of how he was connected to everything that was going on. No matter how she thought about it, they were the same. She felt the suffocating emotion of love scurry from the pit where she thrust it so long ago and surround her heart, making it hard to breathe and her mind unclear. Her body seemed to move on its own as she took a step toward him.

He saw the transformation happen, the same look that he had seen reflected in the mirror millions of times when he thought about her had swept over her beautiful features. He held up a hand, he didn't think the action through, perhaps he intended to hold her back, perhaps he meant to draw her to him with it, but she lifted her own hand to meet his. Her long fingers filled the spaces between his and he tightened his gloved grip on her tiny hand, afraid to let go. She stared up at him, the softness of her feelings reflecting with the sunlight in her eyes. He took a few steps toward her, not wanting any space between them. He lifted his other hand slowly, just fingertips grazing her cheek. Her cheeks flushed, the soft pink fit her. He inclined his head toward hers, placing his forehead against hers. He could smell her, it was a scent he couldn't place, something like flowers, water, and blood, but so pleasant, so intoxicating. When he looked into her eyes from this close he could see they were not red, but actually a brown with flecks of scarlet. He could see the perfect curve of her face, the attractive shape of her nose, and the fullness of her lips, a light pink, too innocent for the kisses she desired to leave there.

She was somewhat startled by the sudden contact of their foreheads. She could feel the heat rush to her face at the proximity to his. His eyes were even more golden up close, she noticed, as he studied her appearance. She watched his eyes pause on her lips, thought crossing over the toffee orbs. She knew that he wouldn't kiss her; he wanted to protect her, even from himself. She had never thought about kissing Gilbert, but now she felt as if she couldn't live without the taste of him on her own lips. He moved to back away from her, but Alice wrapped a hand into his dark hair and stood to her tiptoes, making herself level with his mouth.

Gilbert could not absorb the shock that filled him when she laced his fingers into his hair and rose to meet his face. Their mouth inches apart. Part of him screamed to back away, reminded him of all the dangers that this girl meant, but the other part told him to grab hold and never let go, he was leaning desperately toward the latter. Again his body moved without command, and the inches that had been oxygen between them vanished as he cautiously placed his lips over hers.

She felt like she was drowning in all the feelings that swept over her. This love, this care he took with her, this worry, and more that she couldn't read spilled into her from the kiss. And she returned it, softly, wanting him to understand the way she felt, wanting him know that she returned the sentiments he had for her, she wanted him to know that she loved him as much she felt like he loved her.

And as they pulled away from each other, he kissed her forehead and breathed into her hair, "I love you, Alice."

Alice smiled, "And I love you, Gil."

And she felt him smile with her.


End file.
